I am interested in suggestions for a wheelset to be built around a 28 hole Powertap SL Rr. hub. I am looking for a clincher wheelset that I can train on day in and day out, but I also want it to be road race worthy. I guess that I am looking for the best possible compromise between weight, comfort, stiffness and durability. I've been thinking about going with the DT R1.1 rims and 240 front hub.

Please weigh in with your suggestions for front hub, rims, build. I am already sold on the Sapim CX-Ray spokes.

Here are my particulars:

Height: 5’11”

Weight: 155 lb

Rider Type: ex Cat 2 – currently racing Masters 35+ ; aggressive all-around rider; not abusive on whls.

Weekly Mileage: 225-250

Desired Use: Daily training + road races

Recommendations on specs. and builder appreciated!

Hey gone4aride
Don’t build them go to American Classic and buy them already to go.
They can build you any wheel they sell with a PowerTap SL hub and they will even have the wireless SL 2.5 hub in two weeks. I’m going to get a set of the 420’s with the SL hub for fast training and racing.
http://www.amclassic.com/
take a look.
Dan…

Dan,

Thanks for the recommendation on the Am Classic deal. I scored a great deal on the 2.4 wireless PT , so I am committed already.

Doesn't the 420 whlst. use the Niobium 30mm rim i.e. IRD Cadence Aero?

I trained and raced on a 28h PT SL laced to a Velocity Fusion rim with DT DB spokes for two years This has been a great wheel for training and a good wheel for racing. Built by a master wheel builder, it has never needed to be trued. I weigh 163 lbs.

I am a big beliver in Velocity rims, and would probably suggest Deep-V's for a little performance increase. IMO the weight penalty is well offset by the aero benefits of a 30mm profile rim that is even more stiff and stury for training and racing.

This year I wanted to upgrade and researched the heck out of the options for a more aero PT wheelset that will stand up to training and racing. I am upgrading to Zipp 505 rims, PT SL in back, Dura-Ace front hub, both 28 spokes. Zipp says that all the '07 404 models are built with the double laminate construction. They suggested DT spokes for hard training, but I went with Sapim CX-Rays (28h) partly because of their website extolling the benefits of ovalized spokes. I should get them in in a few weeks.

While I am excited as a little girl about my new wheels, I am not blind to the fact that the Velocity Fusion PT wheel I have right now (combined with a Ksyrium SSC front wheel) is plenty good enough for me.

I'm in roughly the same boat as you. The IRD cadence aero seems like a good choice to me, as to the CX-Rays.

Front hub? Depends on your groupo. If you're a campy guy, go Record (although this year I think they're 32H only), if you've got Shimano, go Dura-Ace. Power Tap will soon be selling their own front hub, but it's kinda fugly IMHO.

Hard to go terribly wrong with the choices you've suggested so far.

slacks, 800lb,

Thanks you both for your input.

I am going to give Troy at Ligero a call tomorrow to discuss the options. Spokes and front hub are decided; CX-Rays and White Ind. H1 respectively. As of right now I am leaning towards the Niobium 30 mm rims (IRD Cadence Aero) 28H rear / 20 H front, but I'll wait to see what Troy has to say before making a final decision.

The thought of going with Zipp 505's with the PT is intriguing, although I had already planned to buy a set of non-PT Zipp 404 tubies for this year's race wheels. I can foresee wanting to have PT data from most races, so the Zipp 404 purchase is now in question.

"Race data is the good data" - Huntter Allen

I just hope the '07 Zipps are as durable as they say.